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Rising up from the heart of the Mediterranean, Sicily has a rich and ancient history spanning over 2,000 years. A bounty prized by invaders from the Greeks, Romans and Vandals to the Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Sicily's violently beautiful landscapes are haunted by a vibrant mix of cultures and her soil has always been fertile ground for the literary and artistic imagination. This compelling guide uncovers the island's multi-faceted personality through those literary figures who have managed to get under her skin - from Pindar, Cicero and Aeschylus to Shakespeare and Cervantes; DH Lawrence, Coleridge and Oscar Wilde to Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Ezra Pound and Lawrence Durrell; as well as local writers who have defined the modern Italian novel - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and Leonardo Sciascia. Through their words and lives we witness the beauty, pain and power of the Sicilian cultural landscape and discover how the potent mix of influences on the island's society has been preserved forever in literature.

Andrew Edwards is writer and the translator of two books set in Sicily by the Spanish author Alejandro Luque. Suzanne Edwards is a linguistics graduate and lecturer. Between them, they have written widely on Sicily, its food, culture and literature.

'Andrew and Suzanne Edwards have created a colourful switchback of quotation and commentary which repeatedly astonishes us with Sicily's differing reservoirs of experience, so that we do find ourselves asking: is there anything Sicily has not seen and does not know?'Duncan Fallowell,The Spectator

'Sicily has everything a traveller could desire. There are innumerable excellent guides to it, but this is the ideal travelling companion, with its unique interweaving of everything that has contributed to Sicily's profound influence on art, literature, history and philosophy...' Country Life

'Sicily is full of such delicious anecdotes: it is not only a literary signpost for travellers in an ancient island, but a cultural guide for anyone who finds themselves in the infuriating thrall of its contradictory and compelling extremes... Sicily is bound to become battered and dog-eared, blotched with caponata and wine stains.'Clarissa Hyman,Times Literary Supplement

'a wonderful text on the literary diversity of the island.'Giles Foden,Conde Nast Traveller

'it breathes new life into Sicily with a passion that is rare, and will take you down roads that you will beg to visit…you’ll be clinging to it with anticipation as you book those flights to the Italian island.'Italia! Magazine

‘This guide explores the enchanting, historic island in depth and with great passion…The Edwards leave no stone unturned as they showcase their love for this pearl of the Mediterranean’ - The Lady

Description

Rising up from the heart of the Mediterranean, Sicily has a rich and ancient history spanning over 2,000 years. A bounty prized by invaders from the Greeks, Romans and Vandals to the Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Sicily's violently beautiful landscapes are haunted by a vibrant mix of cultures and her soil has always been fertile ground for the literary and artistic imagination. This compelling guide uncovers the island's multi-faceted personality through those literary figures who have managed to get under her skin - from Pindar, Cicero and Aeschylus to Shakespeare and Cervantes; DH Lawrence, Coleridge and Oscar Wilde to Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Ezra Pound and Lawrence Durrell; as well as local writers who have defined the modern Italian novel - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and Leonardo Sciascia. Through their words and lives we witness the beauty, pain and power of the Sicilian cultural landscape and discover how the potent mix of influences on the island's society has been preserved forever in literature.

Author Info

Andrew Edwards is writer and the translator of two books set in Sicily by the Spanish author Alejandro Luque. Suzanne Edwards is a linguistics graduate and lecturer. Between them, they have written widely on Sicily, its food, culture and literature.

Review

'Andrew and Suzanne Edwards have created a colourful switchback of quotation and commentary which repeatedly astonishes us with Sicily's differing reservoirs of experience, so that we do find ourselves asking: is there anything Sicily has not seen and does not know?'Duncan Fallowell,The Spectator

'Sicily has everything a traveller could desire. There are innumerable excellent guides to it, but this is the ideal travelling companion, with its unique interweaving of everything that has contributed to Sicily's profound influence on art, literature, history and philosophy...' Country Life

'Sicily is full of such delicious anecdotes: it is not only a literary signpost for travellers in an ancient island, but a cultural guide for anyone who finds themselves in the infuriating thrall of its contradictory and compelling extremes... Sicily is bound to become battered and dog-eared, blotched with caponata and wine stains.'Clarissa Hyman,Times Literary Supplement

'a wonderful text on the literary diversity of the island.'Giles Foden,Conde Nast Traveller

'it breathes new life into Sicily with a passion that is rare, and will take you down roads that you will beg to visit…you’ll be clinging to it with anticipation as you book those flights to the Italian island.'Italia! Magazine

‘This guide explores the enchanting, historic island in depth and with great passion…The Edwards leave no stone unturned as they showcase their love for this pearl of the Mediterranean’ - The Lady